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It It Unreasonable to Have Faith? [The Pat Flynn Show]

So there’s the assumption that faith is detached from reason. That’s the first thing. And while I accept that faith can be detached from reason, and sometimes is detached from reason, I don’t accept that faith can’t be attached to reason, or sometimes isn’t attached to reason.

All faith is in someway inextricably linked to the existence to God. I speak, of course, about spiritual faith. I have little to say about faith in a cup of coffee. I’ve learned never to have faith in a cup of coffee, least of all from a European hotel. I would sooner have faith in a member of congress. But I have much to say about faith in God, as supported by reason that God exists–not proof, rather, but reason. Because if you can reasonably provide a position for God, you have, by consequence, reasonably provided a position for faith, or what to believe about God and/or from God, which differs than reasoning about whether there is God. Furthermore, if you can reasonably provide a position for God AND reasonably provide a position for, say, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you have a reasonable basis for the Christian faith, in particular. (I’m pushing the Christian faith; this is merely illustration.) That is, if God exists by way of reason, and Jesus, too, then you no longer need reason to accept what Jesus said. You can take it on faith, and be reasonable in doing so. (That is, if Jesus was actually resurrected–in other words, brought back to life after being annihilated–then I am no longer going to write his teachings off as the incoherent ramblings of a deranged sorcerer. It would, I think, be unreasonable to do so.)

All of this, of course, is not to provide the reasonable case for the existence of God, nor even the reasonable case for the resurrection of Jesus, but only to highlight that there are reasonable cases for both (books, for example, are sometimes fun to read), despite any dissenting opinion to the contrary, and that because such cases exist, there is, undeniably, a case for faith that is rooted entirely in reason. So no, it is not unreasonable to have faith. Here’s a podcast.

Is It Reasonable to Have Faith?

– Pat

PS – If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy Strong ON!, because they have absolutely nothing in common. (Or do they?)